


merry christmas, davey

by reddeadmadej



Category: Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet (TV)
Genre: Brief mentions of alcoholism, Christmas fic, Fluff, M/M, david is an idiot and brad thrives on his failure, himbos !, in the beginning at least
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27906643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddeadmadej/pseuds/reddeadmadej
Summary: david brittlesbee and brad bakshi are tasked with decorating the office christmas tree.
Relationships: Brad Bakshi/David Brittlesbee
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	merry christmas, davey

“See ya, David!” Ian called out, grabbing his jacket from whichever chair he threw it over in the morning. David yelled a goodbye back before stepping away from his whiteboard to review Ian’s extensive list of ideas he’d noted throughout the day. “Oh! Also, before I forget,” Ian swung around the doorframe to David’s office, “The tree needs to be up and decorated by tomorrow. Later!”

“What? But I-!” His weak protest was cut off by the sound of the slam of a door. Sighing, he strolled out of his office into the large, empty main area. He glanced at the clock: 11pm. He was always last out of the office, so it was no surprise he was alone. At least, he thought he was. That lasted about 10 peaceful seconds before a set of footsteps echoing from the hallway broke the silence, almost making sweet David, always on edge, jump out of his skin.

“Hello? Who’s there?” He yelled, to no avail. The footsteps drew closer to the room. “Hey! I-I’ll call the cops! State your name!”

“Jesus, Brittlesbee.” A familiar voice replied, “Easy.” Brad appeared from the hall, an amused look on his face.

“Oh! Brad! Why are you still here?” David’s eyes followed Brad as he weaved through the desks towards their shared office. Brad sat down in his chair and began typing almost immediately. 

“Work.”

“What work?”

“Finance work. Nothing you’d understand.” He replied flatly, engrossed in whatever he was writing. David, ignoring the subtle insult, watched Brad’s slim hands dart across the keyboard at record speed. “Can I help you?”

“What? No.” He tore his eyes away from the other man’s hands, locking eyes with Brad, who glanced up at David over his night time glasses before resuming his work. “Oh!” David began after a few seconds of silence, “Yes, actually! I need your help with something!”

“What’s up?”

“Well, the office’s christmas tree has to be done by tomorrow morning, and-”

“No.”

“Oh, come on. I’ll put on some christmas music, we’ll make an evening out of it. It’ll be fun!” He tried on. The look Brad shot him was enough for him to get the memo. “Fine. I’ll remember this next time you need my help with something.” 

“When have I ever needed your help with anything, David?”

“I don’t know. You might.”

“Doubt it.”

“I hate you.”

“I know.”

With that, David turned and left the office to haul the tree out from the supply closet. 

-

“Son of a bitch.” David cursed to himself when yet another arm of the artificial tree fell down. He picked it up and hooked it back onto the centre pole, taking a step back to admire his work. The branches stuck out at all different lengths and heights; it wasn’t triangular- not even close. “Well, that doesn’t look right.” he mumbled to himself, wiping a bead of sweat off of his temple, placing his hands on his hips and tilting his head.

“That’s because it’s not.” Brad’s voice piped up from behind him. The blonde man spun around to see his co-worker leaning against a desk with his hands wrapped around a cup of coffee, watching him.

“You didn’t think to give me a hand at all?” 

“Why would I when I could sit here and watch this disaster?”

“Ha-ha,” He laughed sarcastically, “Can you help?”

“No, thank you.” He declined with a smile.

“I’ll give you 20 bucks.”

“I don’t need your money, David.”

“Fine.” The blonde turned back to the tree, attempting to adjust the branches in hopes it’ll somehow improve it. “I thought you had work to do.”

“Finished it. I’m just here for the show.” Brad took a sip of his coffee.

Almost ten minutes passed of David rearranging branches and their positions before he finally took a step back again to see how it was looking. He stood, hands on hips, staring at the tree for about twenty full seconds before he sighed and dropped his arms, looking defeated. 

“A grown man bested by a tree. Incredible.”

“Shut up, Brad.”

“How did you fuck it up that bad? You never put a tree up at home when you were younger?” Brad laughed at David’s poor work. He opted to ignore the saddening look that flashed across David’s face, and instead to put him out of his misery. Placing his mug beside him on the table, he moved past David and grabbed one of the branches, pulling it off and holding it out in front of him. He pointed to the green-coloured tape on the branch's metal hook.

“You see this green tape here?” He crouched down and gestured for the other man to do the same. “If you’d have bothered to look, you’d have seen that the slots on the bottom,” Brad pulled a branch from the bottom out, discarding it to the side and pointing to the slot, “are also green. Second one up is red, the third is yellow, and so on. It’s colour coded.”

Brad watched the realisation come over David’s face and fought back a smile. 

“Oh.”

Ten brief minutes passed with Brad reluctantly lending David a hand, and the tree was finally correctly assembled. David disappeared into the supply closet for the second time that night, emerging with two boxes overflowing with sparkling decorations. He placed them down at their feet and began rummaging through one right away. Brad watched him, smiling warmly for a second before catching himself and coughing awkwardly.

“I should get going.” David looked up from the box at Brad.

“Really? You don’t wanna stay and help me decorate?”

“No. Goodnight.” He brushed off David’s subtle disappointed expression and made his way to their office, grabbed his jacket and headed for the exit. As he reached the door, he turned to look at his co-worker, who was hanging a bauble on a top branch.

“David.” Brad called out, catching the other’s attention.

“Yeah?”

“Remember, bigger ornaments towards the bottom. Smaller at the top.”

“Right... Thank you.” He nodded and turned his attention back to the tree. Brad’s eyes lingered on him, watching him hang decorations one by one. A warm feeling came over him as he watched, the domesticity of the entire situation feeling unfamiliar yet almost comforting. Before long, Brad sighed and found himself removing his jacket and quietly returning to David, grabbing a golden bauble from one of the boxes. David looked over at him in surprise and partial confusion before smiling and silently resuming hanging the decorations, the only sound being the occasional jingle of bells and the quiet christmas music coming from David’s speaker. 

It wasn’t long before the boxes were near empty and the tree was covered top to bottom in all sorts of decor; baubles, bells, tinsel, lights, even custom Mythic Quest figurines. Brad finished tying his last decoration and looked it up and down, nodding to himself in satisfaction. He looked around the tree at David, who hadn’t said a word the entire time. To be fair, neither had he, but David was uncharacteristically quiet. Brad observed the other man, who was holding a small reindeer ornament close to him, fiddling with the string mindlessly, seemingly lost in thought. 

“David.” He spoke after a few seconds, bringing him back to the present.

“Yeah? What?” Brad gestured to the tree, then to David’s hands. “Oh, right.” He hung the reindeer on the nearest branch to him.

“You want a coffee?” David nodded, and Brad soon returned with two steaming mugs of fresh coffee. David had sat himself on a desk in front of the tree, and Brad sat beside him, handing him a mug. David thanked him. 

The two men drank their coffees in silence, admiring the glistening tree before them. A smooth, jazzy christmas song filled the comfortable silence between them. Brad picked up on how David swung his legs back and forth, or tapped to the beat on his mug to keep himself occupied and wondered what other little habits David had that he’d missed.

“I never got to celebrate Christmas as a kid. Not really.” David broke the silence. 

“Okay.” Brad replies, because what else was he supposed to say? Sorry?

“I’d go to school and hear my friends talking about Christmas and their family traditions.. I was always so jealous. What with mom not caring and dad being too drunk to tell the date at all.” David took a breath, eyes remaining fixed on the tree. “I never got the tree, or the presents, or the mistletoe, or the family visits. When I left home, I planned to celebrate it, but when I met my wife I found out she didn’t celebrate Christmas and I lived with it because I loved her. I know there are worse things to go without, but I wanted to experience it so bad.”

Brad sipped his coffee, listening intently. 

“Now I’m on my own, and I can do what I want. It’s important to me that I spend this season with, y’know,” David glanced over to his co-worker, nodding his head, “people I care about. When I came to Mythic Quest, it was like a missing part of me fell into place… this place drives me insane but I wouldn’t trade any of it- any of you- for anything. I know some of you find it silly when I take it as seriously as I tend to, but I’m just…” Brad caught David’s eyes, “Catching up on what I missed.” He finished with a small shrug and a half-hearted smile before dropping his eyes down to his coffee and raising it up to take a sip. Brad noted how he stuck the tip of his tongue out to check the temperature first. Acting on an impulse, Brad set down his mug beside him and grabbed David’s from his hands, placing it next to his own. 

“What’re y- Oh!” Suddenly, Brad’s torso was twisted towards the blonde, his long, lanky arms wrapped around him, holding him tight. Once David passed the moments of initial shock, he returned the hug, sinking into the comfort and trying to ignore his chest beating a mile a minute.

Neither of them knew how long the hug lasted, and neither of them wanted it to end, but with a deep inhale, David let his arms loose, Brad following. 

Brad slipped off the desk, crouching down and reaching into one of the near empty boxes on the group, pulling a large, golden glittery star out. He held it out to David.

“Do I need to tell you where this goes?”

David stared ahead at the star, and then to Brad in awe for a few seconds before chuckling lightly and shaking his head. He grabbed the star and walked to the tree, reaching up, having to stand on his tiptoes briefly. Brad smiled at that. 

“Do you want to do the honours?” David asked, turning to look at the dark-haired man standing behind him.

“No, you should. Go for it.” With the go ahead, David reached down and flicked the switch, illuminating the tree. The glittered decorations sparkled with the light. David stared at the tree with a grin plastered over his face, his eyes lit up. Brad couldn’t help but stare at him, taking the sight in, wishing time could stop so he could just look at him forever. He didn’t fight the urge to smile this time.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” David asked, looking at the tree.

“Yeah.” Brad replied, eyes still on David. 

-

“Thank you, Brad.” David swung his jacket over his shoulders and grabbed his keys from his desk, getting ready to leave after cleaning up the leftover decorations.

“Don’t mention it.” Brad buttoned up his own jacket, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Seriously, don’t. To anyone.”

“Yeah, yeah, I won’t.” He waved his hand at Brad as he closed their office door. The two of them headed toward the exit side by side. When David reached to open the door, Brad held his arm out in front of him, earning him a confused look from the blonde. Brad pulled his hand out of his pocket and lifted it up above the two; small, green leaves dangled between them, pearl-like white berries amongst it. David had seen this in films and at parties, he recognised it instantly. He drew his attention away from the plant and searched Brad’s eyes for some sign of humour because surely, surely not, but all he found was sincerity.

“You said you’d never experienced this… mistletoe thing before… and if I read you wrong, just tell m-”

It only took a second for David’s lips to find Brad’s, and even less time for Brad’s hands to lose the mistletoe and find David’s face. Cupped in Brad’s firm hands, he melted into the kiss, taking in all of him. It was quick, only a few seconds, so much but still not enough. They reluctantly pulled away from each other, Brad keeping his hands on David’s face, stroking his jaw gently with his thumb.

“Merry Christmas, Davey.”

**Author's Note:**

> @MLMBRITTLESBEE on twt [o:   
> also thanku to davie (@enbydavid) for helping me write this!!


End file.
